where do black widows live

Black widow spider bites are fairly easy to detect and individuals should seek medical attention the instant the suspect they have become a victim of this deadly spider.
The notorious black widow mating is particularly violent and occasionally ends in the female spider eating her male partner.
Black widows are carnivores by nature and feed on a variety of insects including the fly, ants, and other small spiders.
When ready to mate, male black widow spiders will wander in search of a female.
Male and female black widow spiders have strikingly different appearances.
This violent ritual is the reason why these spiders were given the particular name ‘black widow’.
Black widow spiders are found in many areas of the world, but are found mostly in the Western Hemisphere, particularly North America.
Black widows are typically solitary creatures and travel by themselves all year long except for a short period of time when males and females come together to mate.
The female black widow spider possesses venom that is 15 times stronger than the venom of a rattlesnake.
Black widows won’t bite people if they’re hungry…sorry. The only time they’re going to bite is if they’re feeling threatened.
Young black widow spiders are typically an orange and white color when they first hatch.
Not everyone who is bitten by a black widow spider will require medical treatment.
Sure, you are terrified at the thought of black widows, but you are almost more scared to get answers to the many questions that you have about these mysterious spiders.
However, when an individual suspects that they have been bitten by a black widow, they should seek medical assistance immediately.
Black widows do not typically bite humans unless disturbed or provoked.
I’ve never encountered a black widow spider, but it’s good – and interesting – to learn about them.

Doctors treat people who have been bitten by black widow spiders with medications to help relax the muscles and reduce pain.
A person who gets bitten by a black widow spider might not know it right away, since the bite can sometimes feel like a little pinprick.
If you ever think that you’ve been bitten by a black widow spider, tell an adult immediately.
They sometimes give antivenin, a medication that fights the venom in the spider’s bite, if someone who has been bitten has underlying medical problems or doesn’t get better from the other medications.
The black widow spider is one of the few venomous spiders found in the United States (venom is a type of poison).
Black widow spider bites rarely kill people, but it’s important to get medical attention as soon as you can because they can make you very sick.
The best way to avoid getting bitten by black widow spiders is to be careful in areas where they like to spend time.
Black widow spiders and their relatives can be found almost anywhere in the Western hemisphere of the world in damp and dark places.
The black widow spider is shiny and black with a red-orange or yellow mark in the shape of an hourglass on its stomach.
The female black widow spider is the most venomous spider in North America, but it seldom causes death to humans, because it only injects a very small amount of poison when it bites.
The female black widow spider, though it is the most venomous spider in North America, seldom causes death as it injects a very small amount of poison when it bites.
The female black widow spider is considered the most venomous spider in North America.
Hundreds of Australians are bitten every year by the red-back spider (Latrodectus hasselti), a close relative of the black widow spider.
Anyone bitten by a black widow spider should seek medical care; an attempt should be made to catch the spider for identification.
There are three types of spiders in genus Latrodectus that are found in the United States and all go by the name “black widow spider.” These are eastern, northern, and western black widows, and all have similar appearances.
The Latrodectus genus of Black Widow spiders is found throughout the world, especially where grapes grow.
When a Black Widow spider bites, the venom subdues the prey.
Black Widow spiders usually eat small insects such as mosquitoes, grasshoppers, and beetles.
Southern Black Widows (Latrodectus mactans) are found in warm regions of the United States.
Western Black Widows (Latrodectus hesperus) live in western Canada, the Pacific Northwest of the United States, and Mexico.
In the 1600s people of southern Europe danced and raved after being bitten by the Malmignatte species of Black Widow.
Female Black Widow venom is very toxic, but a very small amount is injected so people do not usually die.
The syndrome resulting from a Black Widow spider bite is known as “latrodectism”.
Although its bite is dangerous, a Black Widow spider is usually very timid.
A Black Widow Spider with the remains of her prey.
Black widow venom is called “neurotoxic” because it affects the nerves.
Northern Black Widows (Latrodectus variolus) are found from southeast Canada to north Florida.
Black widows are sometimes called “comb-footed” spiders.
A Black Widow is a shiny black spider.
The Southern Black Widow typically mates during the spring and summer.
Black widows have been helpful in controlling pests, such as imported fire ants and harvester ants.
Both the widow spiders and the Steotoda spiders belong to a larger group that includes many kinds of spiders that make similar kinds of webs and have the same general body shape.
Their scientific name is Latrodectus mactans, and they share the Latrodectus name with several similar spiders (sometimes called "widow spiders).
All of the true widow spiders can give bites that are harmful to human beings and may kill children or people who are not in good health.
Black Widow spiders live in warm places all over the world.
But those spiders are not shiny black and often prefer to build their webs in sunny places.
Like other spiders, Black Widows bite for two reasons: to kill things to eat and to protect themselves.
They have a body length of approximately 0.5 inch. The males of the widow spiders are much smaller than the females.
eastern Canada, as far south as Florida and west to Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas with concentrations higher in the northern areas.
Where do black widow spiders live? They can be found between the north and south latitudes of 45 degrees.
west as Texas, Oklahoma, Arizona, and parts of Nevada and Kansas with concentrations higher in the southern areas.
Types of Black Widow Spiders and Where They LiveThe genus name of this insect is Latrodectus and there are 31 species.
These spiders build their “tangled” webs that look like white cotton puffs in areas where other insects, their prey, are usually seen.
Check that the spider is a shiny black or a shade of brown or gray.
A female black widow will measure approximately 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) in length, including the legs.
Like all spiders, black widows have eight legs, which radiate out from their thorax.
The furthest right and left eyes on each row protrude out from the spider’s face and are slightly larger than the others.
Females range from dark brown to a shiny black, with shiny black being the most common color.
Black widow venom is 15 times more powerful than that of a rattlesnake, and about 5 percent of black widow bites are fatal, according to the North Carolina University website.
Black widow spiders go into a state known as overwintering in cold locations.
Winters don’t harm black widows because they are adapted to live through cold months in a low-energy state.
Black widows prefer to live in dark, undisturbed areas, such as in brush, tree hollows and outbuildings.
Baby black widows hatch by the hundreds as tiny white spiders called nymphs.
He contributed to the "San Francisco Chronicle" and "Dark Voices." Adams writes about a variety of topics, including teaching, floral design, landscaping and home furnishings.
The deadly redback spider is a relative of the black widow.
The male black widow is about 25 percent smaller and lighter in color.
The Southern black widow Latrodectus mactans is found in southern New England states to Florida west to eastern Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas being more common in the southern range.
In North America, the black widows commonly known as southern, western, and northern can be found in the United States, as can the grey or brown widow spiders and the red widow spiders.
The Western black widow is found in Western Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas north to the adjacent Canadian provinces and west to the Pacific Coast States.
The Northern widow is found in New England and adjacent Canada south to Florida, and west to eastern Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas, being more common in the northern part of the range.
The Black widow spider is one of the most poisonous and dangerous spiders in North America.
The black widow spider is the most poisonous spider in North America.
Sometimes the female will kill and eat the male spider, which is how the black widow got its name.
Black Widow Spider for Kids: Learn about this poisonous arachnid.
The female black widow spider generally builds her webs low to the ground.
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Black Widow- When the Black Widow Mates (838 words) Does a female black widow really kill her mate, or do they live together in harmony? Find out the answer and learn about spiderlings in this informative article.
Black widow spiders live in most warm areas of the world including the Eastern and Central regions of the United States.
Adult black widow spiders are shiny black with two reddish or yellowish triangles on the abdomen that forms an hourglass shape.
Black Widow- When the Black Widow Bites (874 words) Learn about the black widow’s venom, how to avoid a bite, identify a suspected bite, and treat a known bite.
Female black widow spiders hang on their webs belly up and rarely leave it.
Young black widow spiders resemble the males.
Black widow spiders are considered one of the most poisonous spiders in North America.
Mud-Dauber Wasps are natural predators of black widow spiders.
Black widow spiders eat insects that get caught in their web.
Exterminator Gerry Marsh says over the last few years, the local black widow population has boomed.
As summer gets closer, Kristofer Sauer says he’ll be keeping a close eye on the spots he knows black widows like to hide and he’s already warned his children to come get him if they see any thing that looks like this.
Gerry Marsh says you’ll most likely find black widows outside, it’s rare they’ll try to get inside your home.
Up until then, Sauer says he had never found a black widow near his home.
A lot of little brown spiders look like the black recluse, and a lot of symptoms can mimic a spider bite, including MRSA infection.
You should take your friends advice seriously as brown recluses spiders are certainly more dangerous than black widows as they can produce far serious wounds and scars but I think that since you are in Virginia so you may not have to face them as I assume they cannot be found in Virginia.
Could you please explain how the climate in virginia is so dramatically different from the climate in tennessee where they are known to live? I have found a spider, 6 to be exact, that (from what I have identified) as looking remarkably similiar to the “violin spider”.
Only the sedentary female black widow is capable of inflicting a potentially dangerous bite; the wandering and seldom-seen male is harmless.
A black widow spider bite often results in delayed pain at the wound site.
The black widow most often makes its irregularly shaped, rather tangled web under flat rocks, logs, along embankments or in outbuildings.
Black widows, like other web-building spiders, control insect populations.
Although the Black Widow is a shy, nocturnal spider (that likes to hunt for prey at night), it will bite in self-defense or if pressed against a person’s body.
The Black Widow Spider is one of the most feared in North America because its venom is powerful enough to make humans very ill.
The strong silk of the Black Widow’s web is perfect for catching crawling and hopping insects such as crickets, grasshoppers, and flies.
2) Montana State University Extension Service: General information about spiders found in Montana, including the Northern and Western Black Widow.
As female western black widows grow older, they gradually develop into a shiny black or dark brown, with a bright red or orange hourglass.
Males of the western black widow have three diagonal pale stripes on each side of the abdomen and are usually light brown, whereas males of the other species of Latrodectus are generally black.
Immatures: Spiderlings of both male and female western black widows have the same coloration.
Caution: Anyone bitten by a western black widow spider should receive prompt and proper medical treatment.
Mature male western black widows do not drastically change their body coloration and resemble juveniles of both sexes.
Female: The western black widow female’s body is about half an inch long.
1) Zoo.org Fact Sheets: A well done, detailed info sheet about the Western Black Widow is contained in a PDF document there titled Spiders of the NW (PDF).
For the most part, the black widow’s bite may be felt only as a pin prick, during which the spider’s fangs inject a minute amount of highly toxic venom under the skin.
Outdoors, western black widow spiders may be terrestrial or live above the ground.
5) Rick Vetter’s pictorial page at UC Riverside on identifying Brown widows and separating them from Western black widows.
While the black widow is considered the most venomous spider in North America, death from a black widow spider bite is highly unlikely.
3) Univerity of Michigan, Museum of Zoology: A good, thorough description of the Western Black Widow.
Western black widows live in the warmer western regions of the United States.
Male: Adult male black widows wander around in search of a female.
Black widows make small punctures all over the body of their prey, and then proceed to suck out the liquid contents.
First, a male black widow spins a very small web, and then he places a drop of sperm on the web or the silk.
Black widows kill by means of very small, hollow fangs through which they inject a poisionous venom into their prey.
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Mix – Iggy Azalea Feat.
Iggy Azalea Feat.
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5:31 Iggy Azalea – Black Widow ft.
3:49 Iggy Azalea Ft.
<<Geographical Distribution Southern black widow Latrodectus mactans (Fabricius)is found in southern New England states to Florida west to eastern Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas being more common in the southern range.
Find detailed information on black widow spiders, just one type of spider profiled by PestWorld.
The biggest threat posed by black widow spiders is their bite.
Black widow spiders habits and where they live, webs and egg sacs.
Black widow spiders habits and where they live, their webs and egg sacs.
Discover more about spider control and how to get rid of black widow spiders.
Symptoms of a black widow bite include fever, increased blood pressure, sweating and nausea.
Black Widow Spiders are common in our area and can be found in garages, crawl spaces, bushes, foundations and other areas around homes.
The web of the black widow is an irregular, tough-stranded, sticky cobweb mesh in which the spider hangs with its underside up.
Black widow spiders are most recognized for the red hourglass shpe under their abdomen.
Spiders that might injure people–for example, black widows–generally spend most of their time hidden under furniture or boxes, or in woodpiles, corners, or crevices.
A spider bite might cause no reaction at all, or it might result in varying amounts of itching, redness, stiffness, swelling, and pain–at worst, usually no more severe than a bee sting.
The black widow may rush out of its hiding place when the web is disturbed, especially if egg sacs are present.
The silk of this spider is known to be the strongest of all silk. The Black Widow spider does not spin the pretty webs, instead she will spin the thick jumbles looking cobweb. These webs catch beetles, flies, grasshoppers, moths and other spiders.
The female Black Widow is easy to recognize (if you care to get that close) by the red hourglass shape on the underneath part of her abdomen. She has a shiny black body with various types of red markings on the top, depending on the species. There are about five species of Black Widow spiders in North America.
These spiders, although a little scary, have enemies, as well. A few wasps can sting and paralyze, before eating the Black Widow. She is also a favorite food of the Praying Mantis. Some birds will eat these spiders but could end up with an upset stomach from her poisons. The bright red markings on her belly will warn possible predators that she is a nasty meal.
Generally black widow spiders are found around the perimeter of the home and since they are primarily found around the exterior perimeter of homes, crawl doors and AC units, regular exterior applications similar to what is provided with Perimeter Pest Control or Green Choice Pest Control can greatly reduce black widow spider populations.
To learn more about our home pest control services, our green pest control solutions, or to find out how we can help you combat black widow spiders in your commercial establishment, please contact us today.
Although its venom is as potent as black widow venom, drop for drop, the brown widow probably doesn’t inject very much venom during a bite, making it much less dangerous than the native black widow spider.
It is slightly smaller than a mature western black widow spider, is chocolate brown, and never has red coloration on its belly.
In fact, if the brown widow is indeed displacing the more toxic black widow, there actually might be a reduction in spider bite risk compared to previous decades.
The mature female western black widow spider is about 1/2 inch long, not including the legs, and has a rounded abdomen and very characteristic coloration.
It has the longitudinal stripe on the abdomen and the three diagonal stripes on the side similar to immature western black widow spiders.
There are two species of widow spiders in California, the western black widow and the brown widow.
In one study in Africa, where the brown widow might have originated, the most common symptoms in 15 verified bites were that the bite hurt when it happened, and it left a red mark; none of these patients developed the typical dynamic symptoms of black widow envenomation.
Because the holes, cracks, crevices, trash, and clutter associated with human structures attract the western black widow, these spiders are often very common around homes, barns, outbuildings, and rock walls.
The false black widow, Steatoda grossa, is not a true widow spider; however, it is in the same family, Theridiidae, as the widow spiders and easily can be confused with them.
Several species of black widow spiders are common in North America, but in the Western United States, the only species is the western black widow, Latrodectus hesperus.
In many ways, the mature brown widow female looks very similar to an immature western black widow, so you need to have some skill to identify the two accurately.
They have mild venom and cause symptoms similar to a mild black widow spider bite.
Black and brown widow spider bites in South Africa: A series of 45 cases.
The western black widow spider is found almost everywhere in California where people live.
The western black widow spider—a native species—is widespread and is the spider posing the greatest threat to humans in the Western United States.
In the first decade of the 21st century, the non-native brown widow became established in Southern California, and although it isn’t nearly as dangerous as the black widow, it causes alarm because of its potentially deadly relative.
Also in the brown widow, the black marks at the top end of the 3 diagonal abdominal stripes are large and squarish whereas in the western black widow, the black mark is more round and much smaller.
The silk of a mature black widow is very strong; running a finger through the web that a large spider has made results in an audible ripping sound.
It doesn’t seem to need as much food as the black widow, so the spiders are more likely found inside cupboards and underneath refrigerators or cabinets.
The bite of the brown widow is much milder than the western black widow.
Unlike black widow spiders, baby false black widow spiderlings are dark like their mothers when they emerge.
The false black widow, which is discussed below, is chocolate brown and never has red coloration, although many people frequently mistake it for a black widow.
Clinical presentation and treatment of black widow spider envenomation: a review of 163 cases.
1970. Comparative biology of American black widow spiders.
However, unlike the black widow, this spider isn’t much more toxic to humans than the typical spider.
When baby black widow spiderlings emerge from their egg sac, they have tan legs and tan cephalothorax, the body part to which the legs attach, while the abdomen is mostly white with a few black spots.
Almost all medically important black widow bites are from the adult female, which is much larger than the male; the female also has stronger biting muscles and a larger venom reserve.
Black widow bites don’t cause conspicuous swelling, necrosis, or deterioration of tissue around the bite.
When black widow antivenom mistakenly has been used on false black widow bites, it appeared to eliminate the venom effects.
The habitat of the brown widow is similar in many respects to that of the black widow.
The false black widow is a European immigrant that has become extremely common in Pacific Coast homes from San Diego to British Columbia.
The brown widow appears to be displacing the black widow in many of its habitats.
A female western black widow typically lays about 300 eggs per sac.
However, the coloration is more of a tan, whereas the western black widow is more olive gray.
Westerm black widow spiders, Latrodectus hesperus, live in the warmer regions of the United States.
These spiders produce a potent venom to which humans react, although the incidence of death from a black widow bite is actually quite small.
Black widow spiders live under ledges, rocks, plants, and different types of debris.
Western black widow spiders spin webs that do not take on a definite shape or form.
The most well known species of the black widow spider is Latrodectus mactans.
However, it is important to note that if a large amount of the venom created by the black widow were to get into a human, that person would most likely die.
Adult female black widow spiders are usually black and shiny.
A female black widow may occasionally cannibalize males of the species after mating.
If a black widow is hidden inside a shoe, for example, and a person puts his/her foot inside of the shoe, the black widow will most likely bite.
When the weather changes from warm to cold, black widows are most likely to find places inside of homes in which to live or spin their webs.
Black widow spiders are not really beneficial to humans except for the fact that they eat insects.
Black widow spiders can be dangerous animals.
"Ohio State University Extension Factsheet/ Black Widow Spider" (On-line).
The subspecies Latrodectus mactans tredecimguttatus is also known as a European black widow.
Western black widows are often found around human habitations, which makes them a potential predator of pest insects.
Most times death from black widow bites results in people between these age ranges because of lung or heart failure.
The bite of the black widow is more likely to be painful, and it can cause internal problems.
Female black widows usually live up to a year and a half.
Adult male black widows wander around in search of a female.
"Black Widow Spiders/Latrodectus hesperus" (On-line).
Black widow silk is stronger than any other arachnid’s.
Plus, black widow spiders will only bite humans if they are grabbed or if their web is disturbed: since black widow spiders usually build their webs in out-of-the-way places (not in the middle of a trail, for instance) they are rarely a threat to people.
Although black widow spiders can be dangerous to humans, they are also an important part of our ecosystem, and should not be killed when they are encountered.